Anti-off switch for air-conditioning vent

ABSTRACT

An anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent includes a frame, a panel rotatably connected to the frame, and a switch installed between the frame and the panel for opening or closing the panel. The frame includes a strip plate protruded from a side of the frame, and a corresponding latch plate rotatably coupled to a side of the panel, and the latch plate includes a wrench portion exposed from an external surface of the panel, and a connecting portion disposed between a side of the panel and a side of the frame, and the connecting portion includes a hook for latching the strip plate. The switch allows users to open and close in a normal operation for use, while providing a self-locking function for unauthorized use, so as to prevent the switch from being opened by unauthorized persons and provide a good security of use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to central air-conditioning, and more particularly to an anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent.

2. Description of Related Art

As people's standard of living standard improves, central air-conditioning is used extensively in many places, particularly companies and corporations. The central air-conditioning is mainly composed of a main system installed outdoors and air-conditioning vents installed indoors, and air cooled or heated by the outdoor main system is delivered to the air-conditioning vent of each room through a connecting pipeline and outputted from the air-conditioning vent, so that the temperature, humidity and freshness of air in each room can be regulated to satisfy user requirements of the temperature regulation.

In general, a conventional air-conditioning vent comprises a frame installed on a wall or a ceiling, a hollow panel installed on a port of the frame, a frame hollow panel mounted onto the port, and a vane installed in the frame. To facilitate cleaning and maintenance, the panel and the frame are designed into opened or detached structures, so that it is necessary to install a panel switch between the panel and the frame. At present, there are various different types of switches available in the market. For convenient operations, most switches will be separated by applying an external force, and the switches of this type are applicable for being installed at an air-conditioning vent on a vertical wall. If the switch of this type is applied to an air-conditioning vent on a ceiling, there will be a safety issue, and if a safety switch is applied, there will be drawbacks including laborious operation and inconvenience.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is a primary objective of the present invention to overcome the problems of the prior art by providing a safety and convenient-to-operate anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent in accordance with the present invention.

To achieve the foregoing objectives, the present invention provides an anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent, and the anti-off switch comprises a frame, a panel rotatably connected to the frame, and a switch installed between the frame and the panel for opening or closing the panel, characterized in that the frame includes a strip plate protruded from a side of the frame, and a corresponding latch plate rotatably coupled to a side of the panel, and the latch plate includes a wrench portion exposed from an external surface of the panel, and a connecting portion disposed between a side of the panel and a side of the frame, and the connecting portion includes a hook for latching the strip plate.

To facilitate the manufacturing and assembling processes, the frame includes a flap protruded from a side of the frame, a first latch hole and a second latch hole disposed with an interval apart from each other and on the flap, and a strip plate installed between the first latch hole and the second latch hole is the strip plate.

Preferably, the connecting portion is a flap with a bending angle.

The hook is in an arc shape with a curvature of 80°˜100°.

In addition, the anti-off switch further comprises a slot and a corresponding bump disposed between the connecting portion and a side of the panel.

A line formed by connecting a point of force of the panel acted on the latch plate and the axis of the latch plate is superimposed with the line of force of a vertical tension of the panel.

Compared with the prior art, the anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent of the present invention provides an anti-off self-locking function to eliminate the possibility of the panel from being naturally separated from the frame. In a preferred embodiment, the forces are utilized skillfully, so that the point of force of the panel acted on the switch. In other words, the point of force of the panel acted on the switch is a dead point of the rotation of the switch, and the panel cannot be opened simply by the pulling force of its own weight. The connecting portion is designed with a flap structure of a specific angle and having a bump and a slot, so that after the switch is turned on, an angular elasticity can snap the bump into the slot. In addition, the hook comes with an arc-shaped structure, so that if the switch is touched and turned on by accident, the switch is still latched to the strip plate provided that the rotation angle falls within a range of 80°˜100°, and the panel is secured on the frame. After the latch plate is closed and cannot be opened naturally, users can open it with an easy operation, and the safety of use is improved significantly.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The technical characteristics and objectives of the present invention can be further understood by the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and related drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an assembly of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when a panel is situated at a closed status;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an assembly of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when a panel is situated at an opened status;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective views of a latch plate installed at different angles in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention respectively; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional perspective view of Section A-A of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 for an anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent comprises the following elements:

A frame 1 is mounted on a wall or a ceiling, wherein the frame 1 is a rectangular frame formed by connecting four long boards (not numbered), and the frame 1 includes a flap 11 protruded from a side of the frame 1, and the flap 11 has a first latch hole 12 and a second latch hole 13 disposed with an interval apart from each other, and a strip plate 14 installed between the first latch hole 12 and the second latch hole 13.

A panel 2 is centered at the frame 1 and designed with a grid shape or a hollow line/pattern as needed. In this preferred embodiment, an edge of the panel 2 is hinged with a corresponding edge of the frame 1, and the other opposite edge of the panel 2 has a semicircular slot 21 formed thereon and rotatably coupled to a latch plate 3.

The latch plate 3 is made of an elastic material, and the latch plate 3 and the strip plate 14 constitute the anti-off switch of this preferred embodiment for opening or closing the panel 2. The latch plate 3 includes a wrench portion 31 exposed from an external surface of the panel 2 and a connecting portion 32 disposed between a side of the panel 2 and a side of the frame 1, wherein the connecting portion 32 is a flap with a bending angle, and the connecting portion 32 includes an arc notch 33 formed thereon and having a curvature of 90°, and the arc notch 33 divides the connecting portion 32 into two parts, respectively: a portion having an axial hole 36 for passing a rivet (not numbered) through the axial hole 36 to rotatably couple the portion onto a side of the panel 2 and a semicircular bump 35 corresponding to the slot 21; and the other portion having a hook 34 for latching the strip plate 14. Since the arc notch 33 has a curvature of 90°, therefore the hook 34 can be an arc hook with a curvature of 90°, so that even if the wrench portion 31 is touched to turn the latch plate 3 by accident, the hook 34 will not be separated from the connection of the strip plate 14, but the hook 34 will be secured onto the frame 1, as long as the rotation angle of the latch plate 3 is less than 90°.

In this preferred embodiment, a line formed by connecting the point of force of the panel 2 acted onto the latch plate 3 and the axis of the latch plate 3 is superimposed with the line of force of the vertical tension. In other words, the point of force of the panel 2 acted onto the switch is the dead point of the rotation of the switch, and the panel 2 cannot be opened simply by the pulling force of its own weight.

The operating principle of the anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent of the present invention is described below:

If it is necessary to secure the panel 2 onto the frame 1, the wrench portion 31 is turned, so that the connecting portion 32 can be rotated by using the rivet (not numbered) as the axis, and the hook 34 is inserted into the first latch hole 36, and then the wrench portion 31 is rotated, so that the hook 34 is passed from the second latch hole 13 to the outside and latched with the strip plate 14. Now, the bump 35 falls into the slot 21 precisely to secure the panel 2 onto the frame 1. Since the point of force of the panel 2 acted onto the switch is a dead point of the rotation of the switch, therefore even if the vent is installed on a ceiling, the latch plate 3 will not be separated from the connection of the strip plate 14 simply by the weight of the panel 2 only, so as to provide a high safety of use.

If it is necessary to open the panel 2, the wrench portion 31 is rotated in an opposite direction.

In summation of the description above, the present invention improves over the prior art and complies with the patent application requirements, and thus is duly filed for patent application. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent, comprising a frame, a panel rotatably connected to the frame, and a switch installed between the frame and the panel for opening or closing the panel, characterized in that the frame includes a strip plate protruded from a side of the frame, and a corresponding latch plate rotatably coupled to a side of the panel, and the latch plate includes a wrench portion exposed from an external surface of the panel, and a connecting portion disposed between a side of the panel and a side of the frame, and the connecting portion includes a hook for latching the strip plate.
 2. The anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent according to claim 1, wherein the frame includes a flap protruded from a side of the frame, a first latch hole and a second latch hole disposed with an interval apart from each other and on the flap, and a strip plate installed between the first latch hole and the second latch hole is the strip plate.
 3. The anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portion is a flap with a bending angle.
 4. The anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent according to claim 3, wherein the hook is in an arc shape with a curvature of 80°˜100°.
 5. The anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent according to claim 4, further comprising a slot and a corresponding bump disposed between the connecting portion and a side of the panel.
 6. The anti-off switch for an air-conditioning vent according to claim 5, wherein a line formed by connecting a point of force of the panel acted on the latch plate and the axis of the latch plate is superimposed with the line of force of a vertical tension of the panel. 